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Information, tricks, know-how, and advice to help you laser cut your model in our Acrylic material. Transparency, great variety of colors, discover all the advantages of Laser Cutting with Acrylic material.
Acrylic sheets are typically manufactured using either the continuous cast process or the extrusion process. The extrusion process is faster and cheaper but in terms of quality, the resulting acrylic breaks easily. At Sculpteo we use acrylic sheets that were processed using the continuous cast method. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of Continuous Cast Acrylic (CCA):
Transparency – Continuous Cast Acrylic sheets are made with the same process used to make sheets of glass providing excellent optical clarity and high transparency.
Strength – CCA is easier to ship and handle as a result of its strength compared to other acrylic manufacturing processes
However, Continuous Cast Acrylic can present some issues with thickness control, as it can have thickness variations that go up to 20%.
If you are looking for transparent material, this Acrylic might offer you some great advantages, as well as a great variety of colors. This material has a smooth glass-like, shiny surface and ranges between nontransparent and moderately opaque. To learn more, refer to our paragraph about finishes and colors for acrylic materials.
Please take note that the laser cuts the plastic under a slight angle which may be visible on thicker parts.
Applications
Acrylic is a material that has several benefits, both on its ease of use and on its durability. The technical properties of Acrylic can vary depending on the thickness but will stay quite stable regarding shrinkage and tolerance. Our Acrylic material can light up when exposed to LED lights, and is quite resistant to crazing and or cracking. When cutting, Acrylic is not subject to any deformation and its smooth surface allows for a perfect cut to be easily achieved. Moreover, it can be painted on, glued, lit up, it is also a BPA-free material that is also weatherproof. Continuous cast acrylic is used for thousands of products due to its high quality, exceptional clarity, ease in processing and design flexibility. From displays to signage, medical devices, lighting, electronics and dozens of other applications.
All acrylics are waterproof, that is to say, they are resistant to moisture and can be used in kitchens, bathrooms.
Acrylic is easy to maintain. To clean your Acrylic laser cut or laser engraved parts, simply use a mild soap and lukewarm water mixture with a clean soft cloth, do not use cleaning sprays. It is also recommended to avoid rough cloths, scouring sponges, lacquer thinner, and aggressive cleaning products.
Pricing
Your price for laser cutting and engraving is automatically calculated when you put your vector file online on our website. It is calculated interactively and depends on some factors, such as the amount of material used, the machine time needed to cut or engrave it, and logistics costs. You can see it change in real time as you make modifications to your vector file. To get the price of your item in just a few clicks, you just have to log in and upload your vector file.
Delivery time is added to the laser cutting and engraving time and depends on the delivery method you choose.
Laser Cutting and Laser Engraving Process
What is Laser Cutting and how does it work?
Laser Cutting is a digital subtractive fabrication technique that consists of cutting or engraving a material by means of a laser.T his technology can be performed on different materials such as plastic, wood, cardboard, but also some metals* such as titanium, aluminum, or stainless steel. The process involves cutting material using a powerful and highly accurate laser that focuses on a small area of the material. The high power density results in rapid heating, melting and partial or complete vaporizing of the material. Usually, a computer directs the high-power laser at the material and traces the path.
What is Laser Engraving and how does it work?
Laser Engraving (or Laser Etching) is a subtractive manufacturing method, that uses a laser beam to change the surface of an object. This process is mostly used to create images on the material that may be seen at eye level. To do so, the laser creates high heat that will vaporize the matter, thus exposing cavities that will form the final image. This method is quick, as the material is removed with each pulse of the laser. It can be used on almost any kind of metal, plastic, wood, leather or glass surface. As a special note for our transparent Acrylic, when engraving your parts, you must be sure to mirror the image so that when looking at your part head-on, the image appears correctly.
Finishings
Acrylic is a material that lends itself to different types of operations. While it’s true that Acrylic can be painted, and glued (which we will cover in this section) please be aware that it can also be sawed, drilled, routed, decorated, silk-screened, and formed as well. For gluing you will want to use a solvent-based glue which will soften the surface of the acrylic as it welds the parts together, chemically bonding the two pieces into one.
For painting, it’s recommended to first prime the piece and after using a spray enamel paint on the acrylic parts. When painting, remember not to over-apply the paint, even with a thin layer there will be no runs or drips.
Laser cuts and engraves material by burning its surface, therefore, leaving a kerf. When burning the surface, the laser also leaves a kerf of a width that can vary, depending on the type of material and the thickness chosen.
When designing your project, you need to take this kerf into account and plan for a surplus of material accordingly.
The following chart lists the kerf sizes for Acrylicin the function of the thickness.
In our European catalog:
Thickness of Acrylic Sheets (mm)
1
1(clear)
3
5
8
10
Width of the kerf (mm)
0.07
0.12
0.105
0.17
0.2
0.215
In our American catalog:
Thickness of Acrylic Sheets (in)
1/8
1/16 (clear)
Width of the kerf (in)
0.0039
0.009
In our European catalog:
Minimum dimension (mm)
15 x 15
Maximum dimension (mm)
940 x 590
In our American catalog:
Minimum dimension (in)
0.59 x 0.59
Maximum dimension (in)
32 x 18
In our European catalog:
Thickness of Acrylic sheets (mm)
1
3
5
8
10
Minimum distance between two paths (mm)
1
3
5
8
10
In our American catalog:
Thickness of Acrylic sheets (in)
0.039
0.118
0.196
0.314
0.393
Minimum distance between two paths (in)
0.039
0.118
0.196
0.314
0.393
For laser engraving, the laser will contour each letter, which will “bolden” the font. Therefore, when you conceive your vector file, you need to:
Give priority to narrow fonts
Space the letters
Not write your texts too small (2mm minimum)
For laser cutting, it is key to take the kerf into account when designing your text. The texts must be treated like shapes: they must be vectorized and respect the same rules as every other shape.
We offer two types of laser engraving:
Line engraving: ideal to engrave a contour. It’s the same operation as cutting, with less power. For this type of engraving, use our cutting tips when designing your file. On our website, only one line engraving level is available.
Surface engraving (also known as infill engraving): For this type of engraving, the outline of your design must absolutely be closed. We offer two levels of surface engraving depth: superficial or deep. With the superficial level, the cut can barely be felt by touch, whereas it is noticeable at a deep level.
Make sure you incorporate different colors in your vector design, according to whether you want a cut, an engraving line or a surface engraving.
Is possible to assembly your parts ?
Yes
Minimum space required for assembly
Depends on the kerf
The pieces that are cut can then be assembled. In order to do that you must plan for a minimum space between each of the pieces to assemble. This space must be larger if you want your pieces to be mobile. Make sure to build your design in a way that allows space for the kerf.
If you want your objects to fit into each other (for example a yellow acrylic square into a blue frame) you must take the kerf into account, which means subtract half the size of the kerf from the blue frame’s parameter, and add the other half of the kerf to the yellow square, as you can see on the sketch below:
If you wish to make Acrylic pieces fit into each other and make sure they’ll stay connected, we recommend that you add in nodes. Nodes are small bumps situated in a piece’s slots or tabs, that allow compensating the thickness variations of the material and the kerf. Nodes get compressed when the pieces are assembled and they concentrate the friction on specific points rather than on the slot’s whole surface. This way, the slots can be larger without coming apart, allowing the pieces to stay together.
On top of the nodes, it is important to adequately treat the end of the slots. Sharp angles are a weak point for acrylic, and will always fracture at the corner, where efforts get concentrated. A solution to this issue is to add a hole at the corner of each sharp angle. This technique allows for distributing the stress across the whole surface of the hole instead of just one precise point.
Are you looking for manufacturers using a laser cutting process? Sculpteo provides you the best online Laser Cutting Service for your project. Upload your vector file, choose the material, instantly receive a quote, and let us handle the manufacturing in our ISO 9001 certified factory.
Start using Laser Cutting today by uploading a vector file.
Yes, you can laser-cut acrylic. Acrylic is suited for both laser cutting and laser engraving, this is a very popular cutting material. When laser cutting acrylic, you will have the choice between cast acrylic and extruded acrylic.
At Sculpteo, we made the choice of using cast acrylic sheets, because of its greater workability.
What type of acrylic is best for laser cutting?
Cast acrylic sheets are a great option for laser cutting. This acrylic has excellent workability, actually higher than extruded acrylic sheets.
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